Wherein I bark and growl

Over on SFGate.com this morning, my article on the closing of the San Francisco SPCA's Hearing Dog Program, just a few months before it would have celebrated its 30th anniversary.

And now for a rant. Feel free to ignore it, I just have to get this out. Consider it a form of therapy.

My Borzoi Kyrie grew up in the country. She was born there and she lived there until I moved to San Francisco a year and a half ago. Although she went to training classes as a puppy, and I even showed her a few times, I got lazy and failed to continue to take her places where there were other dogs as she got older. She had many guests both canine and human, and got along with them all, as she got along with all my own dogs, who numbered as many as 11 during her younger years. The only exception was some prey drive she showed towards toy dogs. Well, one toy dog.

So I was unprepared for her fearful reaction to being approached by other dogs when she was on a leash. Over time she's become less reactive and less fearful, and I have no reason to believe she'd be a problem with off-leash dogs if she were off leash herself. But I haven't tested that theory, because I don't think it's ethical or fair to conduct an experiment with other people's dogs. She continues to be friendly with dogs who visit me at my house, whose owners can make the informed decision to take a chance.

(Rebel was shown for quite a while and lived for part of his early life in a town, where he went regularly to a dog park, so he's perfectly fine with strange dogs, on-leash and off.)

Now, in the year and a half since I have lived here, the number of incidents involving Kyrie and other dogs is zero. She hasn't gotten into a fight, gotten off her leash, or snapped at another dog. She used to bark when she'd see one, and back up in a fearful body posture, but she doesn't even do that anymore. I walk her at off hours (I work out of a home office so I have the ability to do that) and if I see other dogs, I just turn around and leave the area. I never have her in off-leash areas when there are other dogs around or likely to be around, and I never, ever let her off leash unless we're in a safely fenced area and there's no one there but us. Which in San Francisco is not often.

So, here I have a dog who I only suspect might tangle with another dog, and I'm acting like she's some kind of dangerous animal, simply because I love her and care about other dogs and don't want there to ever be a problem that I could have prevented. It was hard for me at first to accept that people in San Francisco allow their untrained dogs off leash in leash-required areas, and that they honestly don't care that their dog is racing a hundred miles an hour towards my leashed dogs, and that their dog has either gone deaf or never heard his or her name before and has no idea what the word "Come" means, which doesn't stop them from saying it over and over and over again.

No, I still resent that fact, but I've accepted it, which is why I never go anywhere there's likely to be such a dog.

So of course, the night before last I was out with the dogs at 9 at night. They were on a leash. We were in a leash-required area separated from a busy street by nothing more than a few trees. We were at the far end of that area, at least 100 feet from the road, down a hill from the path that runs parallel to the street, next to the trees. So, at least 75 feet from that path, down a hill that was itself covered with trees and shrubbery.

And a dog comes trotting down that path, off leash, her owner following behind, talking on her cell phone, leash looped around her neck.

The dog sees my dogs, and starts scrambling down the hill towards us.

My dogs do nothing. They don't bark or pull or advance. They do look up from the fascinating bits of dirt they had been sniffing, but that's it.

The owner breaks away from her phone call long enough to assure me that her dog just wants to say hi. I smile, hold the hand that's gripping Kyrie's leash up an inch or two, and say, "She's not friendly, so could you call her?"

Suddenly, owner goes ballistic on me. Says she's heard all about my dogs causing trouble in the park, that I have a bad reputation, just goes nuts. Now, I know what she's saying is impossible. Other than a short run-in I had a year and a half ago with a lady whose off-leash Jack Russell tried to bite Rebel's head -- something that prompted not even a growl from Rebel, who just looked at the little dog and said, "You're kidding, right?" --  and who I have never seen again in the park, I've never had any problems with anyone about my dogs.

Once or twice I've smilingly asked someone to hang onto their dog while I left the area so they could continue their use of the park without worrying about my dog (and again, these are unleashed, untrained dogs in leash-required areas), but never did anyone react with anything but prompt courtesy, and even one or two offers to leave or leash their dog. So she was either making the whole thing up to upset me (it worked) or had me confused with someone else (although none of my neighbors or fellow late-night dogwalkers has ever mentioned there being someone using the park who has problem dogs).

So, I actually laughed when she started saying these things. Then she got really vicious and started using a lot of four-letter words, called me "a cackling witch" and walked backwards out of the area screaming at me without ceasing the entire time.

And she never did put her dog on leash or even call her.

And neither Rebel nor Kyrie ever barked.

That was Sunday. This is Tuesday, and it's still bugging me, so I'm trying this. I guess I'm not as well-behaved as Rebel and Kyrie.

Comments

[Red]

What a bitch.

She said you cackled? O-kay. Maybe she's a Republican.

I know your dogs. I love your dogs, and I'm so not an animal person. And I know that you would never do anything that would endanger yourself, your dogs, or anyone else's. My guess is she's seen you on tv and is jealous. I got a place for her cell phone, too. Still, I hate it when people have their dogs off leash on city streets and in parks out of the off leash zone. As you said, a lot of them are untrained, and that sweet nice little dog of theirs might decide to bite me, just cause.

I can't imagine Lady Kyrie being agressive, though. She never is with us, not even the first time I met her. And that's when dogs tend to show that. Then again, I never reached for her bowl, so...

[NA]

OK, I have walked with you and the dogs numerous times. You are extremely proactive to stay away from other dogs and have ALWAYS reacted by pulling Kyrie very close if an of leash dog came charging towards us. In over a year I have never once seen Kyrie act in an agressive manner. Everyone who greets us smiles at the dogs and says hello.
I am a cat person that normally does not even care for dogs and I think Rebel and Kyrie are beloved.

What a horrible, ugly mannered person, I think I we should pee on her leg.

[A]

Not sure if this is appropriate or not but I think the weird lady was just acting "human" (Bitches only act like that when they are Alpha and in heat,LOL, maybe that's her problem?)...

I have Sammies and while they aren't exactly known for their aggressive behavior, (they do LOOK like wolves and they can be overly exuberant when trying to meet someone new) in the town I live in if you post a "dog" sign of any kind you can be held liable if someone trespasses on your property and gets hurt by your dog in any way. So I have No Trespassing signs posted (it covers me just in case) and if anyone comes to the house while the dogs are out I call them in immediately..

I always have felt weird because it feels as though I am treating my sweet tempered friends as though they were "dangerous" and I am really sure they aren't but sometimes better safe than sorry...

As for the woman in the park? She probably was making it all up because you caught her being a "BAD" dog friend and projected onto you. Ignore her and love your friends because it sounds as though you are a responsible caring dog human which the world needs more of..

[EmilyS]

um, well: since she had her dogs off leash in a leash-required area, and you had your dogs ON leash, the fault is entirely hers. It wouldn't matter if your dogs hated other dogs, or even if they snarked at an offleash dog approaching them. What part of "on leash" doesn't she understand? On leash dogs don't cause trouble. OFF leash dogs in on-leash required areas cause trouble.

I'd be calling your local law enforcement and asking them to enforce the law...

[Travis]

You're much nicer than I am. I would have beaten her over the head with her own cell phone. :)

When Branagh was alive, and I used to walk him in West Hollywood, where it is the law that all dogs be on-leash, we used to run into off-leash dogs all the time. I'd always pull Branagh up close to me on a tight leash until it was ascertained that the other dog was not going to try to maul either of us. Nothing pissed me off more than a dog owner calling to me, "oh, she's friendly" after their little froo-froo dog would come up running and being aggressive. That's all well and good, but my dog is on a leash for a reason, and although I don't think Branagh would ever attack another dog, he certainly would defend himself, if necessary. If I don't know the dog, I assume that it could be aggressive.

Twice in the past couple of months, I've been walking by myself on the sidewalks going to the gym, and dogs have come out of their owners house, off leash, and started barking, growling and running up to me. I don't know these dogs, and they're barking and growling at me? So, I put on my best smile, stop dead in my tracks, wait for them to go away, or be prepared to kick the crap out of them if they attack me. Meanwhile, the owners are asking me if I needed anything. I said, "I'm just trying to walk on the sidewalk, and your dogs are in my way." Idiots. Pure and simple.

I feel your pain.

Travis

[Arlene]

I, too, have a reactive dog. She's gotten a lot better with training and positive reinforcement (and some maturity), but I encounter these situations all the time. The assumption always seems to be (by the owner of the unleashed dog) that if his/her dog is friendly, everything is fine. It really isn't fair to me or my dog to have unleashed dogs in leash-required areas--or to be playing Chuckit in those areas! But it happens all the time. Usually, I find what you did works: when the other owner yells out "my dog is friendly," and I say, "but my dog isn't," they get their dog on leash right aways. You seem to have come across an exceptionally clueless, inconsiderate owner!

[Barbara Ruth Saunders]

I just witnessed a dog fight between owners this morning. Ugly (and ridiculous) stuff! Tiny dog got a little skittish and snarled at a much bigger dog. Big dog owner yelled at small dog owner. Small dog owner accused big dog owner of being regularly "mean" to her. This went on for ten minutes. Meanwhile, the little dog was walking between them wagging her tail and looking plaintive, trying to make friends with both people. The big dog was off playing with some other big dogs.

[Cate]

Christie, I know from personal experience how upsetting such encounters are. They are a sad fact of city living in our time. I always want to respond to "it's okay, he's friendly" with "but you're an idiot." Of course I never do.

[Grizel]

I've owned a dog-aggressive dog for many years and have routinely encountered idiots like the one you describe as I tried to keep her safe and their dogs safe.

I was particularly interested in your dog's change in attitude after you moved to the city. My dog reacted differently to suburban dogs, although I suspect she was much more intense than yours. We spent a lot of time with working dogs, with whom she never had a problem. It was the pets in my suburban neighborhood that drove her crazy.

This puzzled me, until the working dogs' handlers explained that the neighborhood pets' "greetings" (which seem cute and enthusiastic to humans) are in fact rude demands for attention that we wouldn't tolerate from another person. Pets often don't have good dog manners (perhaps because they never get an opportunity to learn them), and they are disconcerting to a dog who does.

So, in other words, the dogs you encounter may actually be as rude as their owners.